No doubt Brett Lee was a super athlete: Shoaib Akhtar

London, Karachi: Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar has praised his Australian counterpart Brett Lee who on Friday announced his retirement from international cricket.

Akhtar and Lee were rated the fastest bowlers in the world throughout their overlapping careers.

The Australian fast bowler announced his retirement on Friday from all forms of international cricket.

The 35-year-old pacer had earlier retired from Test cricket in February 2010 after taking 310 wickets in 76 matches, but continued playing for Australia in one-day matches and in the Twenty20 arena.

“Lee without any doubt was a super athlete. He was a great fast-bowler. I know this for a fact that he was playing with pain since the last decade. It is unfortunate that people and managements don’t understand the problems of a fast bowler,” he said.

“They keep on fighting with injuries throughout their careers. They cannot serve for long due to repeated injuries. The world is already facing a dearth of fast bowlers and Lee’s retirement will leave a vacuum,” The Express Tribune quoted Akhtar, as saying.